


World Beyond The Waves

by Kyuubiluver342



Category: Original Work
Genre: Depression, F/F, Suicide Attempt, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 13:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuubiluver342/pseuds/Kyuubiluver342
Summary: What happens when a young deaf girl meets a mermaid? Original story





	World Beyond The Waves

World Beyond The Waves

She saw the other children running around without a care in the world and sighed. Sighed even though she couldn’t hear it. Even though she was a child herself, she didn’t feel that way. Their mouths moved, chattering and talking between themselves, but no sounds came to her ears. She looked over and saw her parents, arguing quietly as they always did, trying not to let her know about their true feelings towards each other. She stood up, dusted the sand from her shorts and started walking. 

It was a small beach, not much to it, but one she knew well. She had lived here all her life, her and her parents. She always enjoyed the calm blue waves and salty air, though she wished she could hear the waves that crashed on the shore or the gulls that cried overhead. She kicked a rock and watched it plop into the water, watching the rings spread out and then fade away. Looking back and realizing no one had noticed she was gone, she kept going. Going until she came across a wall of rocks, rocks she had always been warned away from. No one went on that side of the beach and yet, she longed to see it. Looking back once more, she steeled herself and climbed.

After some time, she got to the top and looked down, amazed by what she had done. God, her parents would kill her when they found out. That’s when she noticed something odd, someone was laying on the beach, covered partially by the ocean waves. Worried greatly since there had been a storm the night before, she quickly climbed down, worried she had found a dead body, brought in by the waves. Racing over, she was quick to drop to her knees and went to shake the person.

Long blonde hair, tanned skin and clearly female, she was laying on her stomach, arms pillowing her head. She saw the movement of her back and she sighed in relief. Reaching out, she shook the woman, worried the waves were coming in and she might drown if she continued to lay there. The woman’s head came up and she smacked her lips a little, stretching and yawning. Something slapped the water and she looked over to see, not long tan legs like expected, but a glittery green and gold tail.

Her mouth dropped and she just stared in awe before the woman turned her head and their eyes locked. Blue met black and the woman lying on the sand blinked. Suddenly the woman grabbed her and her mouth started moving. The words on her lips were clear.

“Who are you?” the mermaid demanded angrily holding her face.

She brought her hands up and the woman glared, grabbing one wrist, squeezing to the point of pain.

“Please stop, that hurts.” She signed and the mermaid paused. 

She pulled her hands back and looked at the human girl before bringing her own hands up. They started to move in familiar ways and the girl’s eyes widened in awe.

“You are deaf?” the mermaid signed.

The girl stopped dead. The mermaid…knew sign language? It was surreal, but amazing at the same time.

“Yes, I am. You know sign language?” the girl replied and the mermaid scuffed.

“Honey, mermaids invented sign language.” The mermaid replied as she rolled over to lie on her back.

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I am Emma.” The girl replied.

“I am Marina.” The mermaid replied.

For Emma, it was very odd to find someone else that knew sign language. She had grown up in a world that didn’t seem to care about her disability or expected her to figure out a way to interact with hearing people. It was difficult at times, but she worked hard. The mermaid waved her hand to get Emma’s attention.

“So what are you doing over here? I thought you humans didn’t come over here.” Marina asked.

Emma sighed, though she didn’t have to.

“Didn’t have anything else to do.” Emma replied.

Marina nodded and relaxed back into the sand, waving her tail back and forth idly. The sun made her tail look glittery and beautiful. Emma had the urge to touch it.

“What about you?” Emma asked.

Marina huffed and crossed her arms, glaring at the water.

“My friends took me out last night and I felt like shit, so I stopped here to take a nap in the sun.” Marina replied and Emma giggled, covering her mouth with her hand.

They spoke back and forth for a while. Emma learned Marina was one of twelve, the second oldest and had dreams to move to the Caribbean when she got a little older. Emma explained she was an only child to parents who were probably going to divorce soon because her father had been caught cheating. Marina winced and told her she understood, her father had cheated as well, hence four of her twelve siblings.

The sun was starting to set and Emma realized she had been here for a while. Her parents were probably worried sick.

“Have you heard anyone call for me?” Emma asked.

“Yes, I heard someone calling the name Emma just now.” Marina stated and Emma sighed, getting up.

“I have to go.” Emma signed and Marina sat up.

“Well, I hope you come back some day. I would love to see you again.” Marina stated before she crawled into the water and with a splash, disappeared from sight.

Emma climbed back over the rocks and was hugged by her parents, who were overjoyed that she was ok. Emma spent the rest of her summer going back to that place, often finding Marina sunbathing on the beach. For Emma, Marina was a breath of fresh air. She was kind, but sassy, often a good sounding board for when Emma just needed to vent and have someone actually know what she was saying. She talked about friendships, her relationship with her parents, her parent’s relationship and so much more. Marina was just happy to lie there and read what she was saying.

It was one day that Emma asked Marina a question she had on her mind for a while.

“So why do you stop here every day? Don’t you have anywhere to go?” Emma asked and Marina shrugged.

“Not much. I mean you have to understand something, Emma. Mermaids like me are not worth much.” She stated and Emma was confused.

“Worth?” Emma replied.

Marina pulled up her tail and grabbed a scale, ripping it off without so much as a flinch. She held it up and Emma was amazed.

“My scales. They are bland, boring. Mermaids with beautiful tails are the ones who get to procreate. Mermaids like me? We get nothing. We can live for years and years and nothing. So why not hang out here?” Marina stated.

Emma was amazed. It seemed so barbaric. 

“But, you are so kind and amazing.” Emma replied.

Marina laughed, though Emma couldn’t hear it. She really wished she could.

“Doesn’t mean anything in this society, kid.” Marina stated.

Emma leaned back on her hands and wondered. Wondered about the water beyond her world. Wondered about the society that seemed to shun Marina for nothing more than the color of her scales.

“Do you want to know how the first mermaid was born?” Marina suddenly asked.

Emma nodded, losing her train of thought completely. Marina was not one to give up such things easily.

“I heard the story a lot as a child, about the human woman who became the first mermaid and why mermaids were allowed to interact with humans. They say it started with a human woman who loved a sailor. He convinced her to run away with him, to leave all she had and follow her onto his ship. Back in those days, women weren’t allowed on ships, it was bad luck, but she agreed to dress as a boy and claim to be the new cabin boy.” Marina explained.

“One night, there was a really bad storm and the crew got suspicious. They believed the gods were angry at them and that they had done something wrong to bring about the storm. The sailor, racked by guilt and fear, finally told the truth. The crew, now enraged, decided that clearly the only way to fix this was to throw the woman into the waves below. They grabbed her and threw her overboard. With her heavy clothes, she was quick to sink, despite her best efforts. The waves seemed to drag her under and just as she thought she would die, her felt a hand wrap around her legs and they seemed to merge together. She found herself suddenly able to breath and watched as her eyes adjusted to the water. She had changed forever.” Marina continued.

“What happened to the men?” Emma asked.

“Well, the storm did end and the men made it safety to land, but the woman was enraged. She followed them to the shore and waited until they set sail again before she struck. She waited until they sailed close to dangerous rocks and then climbed onto one. She then used her voice to hypnotize the crew into ramming into the rocks and one by one, she drowned each of them in time.” Marina finished.

Emma was in awe. Such an amazing story. To think all of this had come from one woman.

“That’s amazing. Do you think it is true?” Emma asked.

“I don’t know. I can’t imagine how we came about another way. I mean, I do wonder about it, but humans and mermaids look so similar, it could be.” Marina replied.

Emma hummed and looked towards the water.

“I wish I could be a mermaid. I mean you said everyone knows sign language right? That sounds so nice.” Emma said and Marina paused.

“I don’t think you really want that. Mermaids are so cruel and mean at times. I can’t imagine what they would do to you.” Marina stated.

Emma had to wonder if Marina wasn’t telling her something, but the day had been long and the sky was darkening. Emma stood up and, as they always did, watching Marina crawl back into the water and give a goodbye splash of her tail before Emma left.

Emma never made it back to the beach after that day. Her parents decided to separate and she was forced to move with her mom to a small apartment on the other side of the town. Emma would grow up and grow older, eventually leaving town and forgetting about her beloved friend on the beach. It wasn’t until many years later, after a failed marriage and a downward spiral of depression did Emma come back.

As she parked her car, she sighed deeply and ran her hand through her hair. She got out of the car and walked onto the beach. Seeing the wall of rocks just off to her left, she suddenly became overwhelmed. She climbed the rocks as fast as she could, but there was no golden haired mermaid on the other side. The beach was empty and Emma felt so stupid. Covering her face with her hand, she knelt down and cried before looking up. 

She idly remembered the story Marina told her and without a thought, she stood up and entered the waves. Her long jeans and heavy sweater soon became hard to move in, but she kept going until she could no longer feel the sand under her feet. She started to swim, ignoring her burning limbs and growing fear until her head went under as well. The world around her had always been quiet, but under the water, it seemed almost calm. Her lungs burned and she started to panic. Her eyes slide shut and she struggled a bit before going limp. She was so tired.

Two strong arms came up and suddenly, her legs, so heavy, became lighter and then merged. She could breath and everything else seemed to fade away. She opened her eyes and Marina was there, smiling at her.

“Ready to go?” she signed and Emma signed back.

“Always.”


End file.
